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The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History
Originally created as an educational tool for children in the mid-1700s, jigsaw puzzles developed into a national craze during the Great Depression. Today, the collecting and assembling of jigsaw puzzles continues to challenge new and experienced puzzlers alike with hidden messages, mysteries to solve, and a never-ending stream of challenges to conquer.
Assembled by renowned puzzle expert Anne D. Williams, The Jigsaw Puzzle pieces together the origins of the beloved pastime that has enthralled people worldwide for centuries. The study also examines the minds of such famous puzzlers as Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates, and Stephen King.
Assembled by renowned puzzle expert Anne D. Williams, The Jigsaw Puzzle pieces together the origins of the beloved pastime that has enthralled people worldwide for centuries. The study also examines the minds of such famous puzzlers as Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates, and Stephen King.
272 pages, Hardcover
First published November 2, 2004
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219 people want to read
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December 11, 2020
To make the most of the stay-at-home order, I’ve been tackling various projects, one of which is to sort through my accumulated puzzles to determine which are worth keeping. I don’t generally have the time to do puzzles, and have never had the opportunity to do several back to back. I began to notice differences in quality and style, which led me to wonder about puzzles in general, and that prompted me to pull this book off the shelf. (Yes, another project is to try to read more of the books I’ve accumulated—when you have a book about puzzles on the shelf, it may be a sign you have too many books—or a robust collection, it’s a matter of perspective.)
Overall, this book is a bit flawed in terms of structure. There’s an introduction, chapter 1 gives a broad perspective, and chapters 3-5 were great as they walk the reader through the history of puzzles. The author occasionally slips into just listing things which can get tedious, but overall I found the history quite interesting. The remaining chapters, 6-9, are where the books starts to fall apart. The style changes, and they feel like long magazine articles tacked on to what would otherwise be too short for a book. A few pages into Chapter 6, I flipped to the copyright page, and sure enough found a note that some of the content has been previously published in 5 different magazines and three of the author’s previous books. I wouldn’t mind this if the book flowed well and the content was equally strong, but in places she just seems to be listing everything she can think of that’s puzzle related, like TV shows and companies that have used puzzle imagery. Chapter 6, on luxury puzzles, is somewhat interesting, but subsequent chapters feel almost like filler, and there are redundancies indicating that the articles weren’t effectively revised to fit cohesively into the book. There is an appendix of lists of websites, including museums and puzzle retailers. Of course, several are defunct now, as this book is over 15 years old, but it was still useful to me in finding some puzzle retailers.
With the exception of the earliest history, the content focuses on puzzles in the US. Here are a few highlights from the history chapters. The first puzzles were of maps used in the mid-18th century to teach noble children geography. The puzzle expanded into the 19th century to include other educational topics for children, as well as illustrations. Early manufacturers would sometimes buy the extra printings of illustrations from children’s book publishers to make puzzles.
Perhaps the most interesting fact was that adult puzzles came into being thanks to society ladies with too much time on their hands. The jigsaw, which was basically like a pedal sewing machine with a blade instead of a needle, was invented in the early 1900s and offered a new hobby. Women with leisure time took to making puzzles, pasting images from magazines on wooden boards. This soon launched an adult puzzle craze in 1907-1910 (it made me think of the recent coloring books for adults craze). Some women even built small factories, hiring workers to meet demand. Parker Brothers got in on the action in 1908, shutting down it’s board game production to devote the resources to capitalizing on the puzzle mania. They hired all female workers, and encouraged them to come up with their own patterns. Of course, they claimed women had better fine motor skills and experience with sewing machines helped, but the reality was likely that they could pay them a lot less. Distinct shapes like animals and symbols among the pieces were particularly popular. At this point, only middle and upper class people could afford puzzles, which sold at the rate of a penny per piece ($2 for a 200 piece puzzle). There were also puzzle lending businesses for those who couldn’t afford to buy puzzles.
Another wave of puzzle mania struck America in 1932-1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. Die-cut cardboard puzzles were now available, making them affordable and a cheap form of entertainment and distraction. Advertisers found them an effective premium, so even the poorest people had access thanks to these free puzzles. The cottage industry started up again, allowing people who had lost their jobs to supplement their income making and selling wooden puzzles. Two companies even launched a weekly puzzle program, selling them at news stands.
There was another minor puzzle boom during World War II when gas rationing caused many to stay home. Puzzles took peoples’ minds off the stress of war and rationing, as well as incessantly repetitive news radio. It reminded me a great deal of our current situation in the midst of the Corona virus epidemic, which has prompted yet another puzzle craze—at the moment, many retailers are sold out and several puzzle companies are closed to orders as they try to catch up with sudden overwhelming demand.
I do wish there was a little more about current manufacturers in this book. Ceaco and Buffalo Games each get a couple paragraphs, but Ravensburger, which is one of the most prominent brands I’m familiar with, is only mentioned once in passing. And I imagine there are others I’m not aware of. The author does comment on how the number of puzzle manufacturers seems countless, but that’s over the course of a few centuries.
Bottom line is it’s a rather niche topic, And the author seems to have reasonable knowledge, though perhaps not enough to support a strong general-audience book. I found about half of it quite interesting and worthwhile, but could have skipped the last three chapters.
Overall, this book is a bit flawed in terms of structure. There’s an introduction, chapter 1 gives a broad perspective, and chapters 3-5 were great as they walk the reader through the history of puzzles. The author occasionally slips into just listing things which can get tedious, but overall I found the history quite interesting. The remaining chapters, 6-9, are where the books starts to fall apart. The style changes, and they feel like long magazine articles tacked on to what would otherwise be too short for a book. A few pages into Chapter 6, I flipped to the copyright page, and sure enough found a note that some of the content has been previously published in 5 different magazines and three of the author’s previous books. I wouldn’t mind this if the book flowed well and the content was equally strong, but in places she just seems to be listing everything she can think of that’s puzzle related, like TV shows and companies that have used puzzle imagery. Chapter 6, on luxury puzzles, is somewhat interesting, but subsequent chapters feel almost like filler, and there are redundancies indicating that the articles weren’t effectively revised to fit cohesively into the book. There is an appendix of lists of websites, including museums and puzzle retailers. Of course, several are defunct now, as this book is over 15 years old, but it was still useful to me in finding some puzzle retailers.
With the exception of the earliest history, the content focuses on puzzles in the US. Here are a few highlights from the history chapters. The first puzzles were of maps used in the mid-18th century to teach noble children geography. The puzzle expanded into the 19th century to include other educational topics for children, as well as illustrations. Early manufacturers would sometimes buy the extra printings of illustrations from children’s book publishers to make puzzles.
Perhaps the most interesting fact was that adult puzzles came into being thanks to society ladies with too much time on their hands. The jigsaw, which was basically like a pedal sewing machine with a blade instead of a needle, was invented in the early 1900s and offered a new hobby. Women with leisure time took to making puzzles, pasting images from magazines on wooden boards. This soon launched an adult puzzle craze in 1907-1910 (it made me think of the recent coloring books for adults craze). Some women even built small factories, hiring workers to meet demand. Parker Brothers got in on the action in 1908, shutting down it’s board game production to devote the resources to capitalizing on the puzzle mania. They hired all female workers, and encouraged them to come up with their own patterns. Of course, they claimed women had better fine motor skills and experience with sewing machines helped, but the reality was likely that they could pay them a lot less. Distinct shapes like animals and symbols among the pieces were particularly popular. At this point, only middle and upper class people could afford puzzles, which sold at the rate of a penny per piece ($2 for a 200 piece puzzle). There were also puzzle lending businesses for those who couldn’t afford to buy puzzles.
Another wave of puzzle mania struck America in 1932-1933, in the midst of the Great Depression. Die-cut cardboard puzzles were now available, making them affordable and a cheap form of entertainment and distraction. Advertisers found them an effective premium, so even the poorest people had access thanks to these free puzzles. The cottage industry started up again, allowing people who had lost their jobs to supplement their income making and selling wooden puzzles. Two companies even launched a weekly puzzle program, selling them at news stands.
There was another minor puzzle boom during World War II when gas rationing caused many to stay home. Puzzles took peoples’ minds off the stress of war and rationing, as well as incessantly repetitive news radio. It reminded me a great deal of our current situation in the midst of the Corona virus epidemic, which has prompted yet another puzzle craze—at the moment, many retailers are sold out and several puzzle companies are closed to orders as they try to catch up with sudden overwhelming demand.
I do wish there was a little more about current manufacturers in this book. Ceaco and Buffalo Games each get a couple paragraphs, but Ravensburger, which is one of the most prominent brands I’m familiar with, is only mentioned once in passing. And I imagine there are others I’m not aware of. The author does comment on how the number of puzzle manufacturers seems countless, but that’s over the course of a few centuries.
Bottom line is it’s a rather niche topic, And the author seems to have reasonable knowledge, though perhaps not enough to support a strong general-audience book. I found about half of it quite interesting and worthwhile, but could have skipped the last three chapters.
December 8, 2020
“...puzzling has been most popular during economic downturns , when people have more leisure time than they really want. During the 1930s jigsaw puzzles became popular as never before. As unemployment skyrocketed, people turned to them for inexpensive entertainment and solace. The joy of bringing order out of the chaos of scattered pieces seems to be enhanced when the problems of the world appear most intractable.“
No wonder making puzzles is a favorite activity during the pandemic! This was a fun book to read at this time, full of fun memories for someone who has been in love with jigsaw puzzles since the late 1950’s. It’s copyrighted 2004, but the historical chapters are the most interesting. Great illustrations as well.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it didn’t come with a puzzle! 🧩
No wonder making puzzles is a favorite activity during the pandemic! This was a fun book to read at this time, full of fun memories for someone who has been in love with jigsaw puzzles since the late 1950’s. It’s copyrighted 2004, but the historical chapters are the most interesting. Great illustrations as well.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ because it didn’t come with a puzzle! 🧩
May 26, 2012
A lifelong obsession.
July 1, 2020
Anne D. Williams, author of The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History is “the world’s foremost expert on jigsaw puzzles,” said to have the largest collection of antique puzzles in existence (around 8,000). The book sports a fine colour insert of rare puzzles, including one by artist Harry Roseland known for his unusually sympathetic portrayal of African Americans in the early 1900s, a customized wedding proposal puzzle, and Springbok’s Convergence, marketed in 1964 as “the world’s most difficult puzzle.” She also includes a section on how to create puzzles as well as selected websites (which would be hopelessly out of date since the 2004 publication) and a solid bibliography and endnotes.
I have an ideal spot to set puzzles, a huge table surrounded by windows, great morning light, and lovely scenery and birdlife. Add a cup of coffee and it is a relaxing and inspiring way to start an early morning. I learned in the book that there are myriad reasons people enjoy puzzles, from unwinding with them the way I do, to socializing with other puzzlers and family, to challenging themselves with speed and difficulty. My friend’s family buys him three 1,000-piece puzzles, throws all the pieces into one bag, and hides the boxes. He loves it!
Puzzles originated in the mid-1700s as educational tools for children. From this beginning, they have grown to encompass all imaginable themes and are a popular hobby and, sometimes, an obsession. Williams discusses in some detail how puzzle trends reflect and reveal cultural and popular historical topics, including patriotic themes during the world wars, advertising trends, movies, iconic writers, maps, great works of art, and world destinations. One Canadian company I ran across creates quality puzzles to show off the contemporary artwork of artists in its home province.
Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates, Stephen King, and my five-year-old grandson are all avid puzzlers. Early puzzles were cut from wood. Par Company in the United States created premier luxury wooden puzzles for decades in the and cut their customized wooden puzzles for folks such as Humphrey Bogart, Yul Brynner, and Marilyn Monroe. Par and Stave luxury puzzles found their way onto the yachts and private railway cars of Edsel Ford and the Rockefellers. Some notables, including publishing icons, who purchased puzzles had them sent in unmarked boxes, “to conceal their addiction to puzzles from their highbrow colleagues.” Williams demolishes the cliché of the lonely and bored puzzler, as immortalized by the jaded housewife in Citizen Kane. But the stigma continues. On a Facebook page for puzzle enthusiasts, one fellow said recently how nice it was to find this group online, since he is male, age 46, and often ridiculed for his hobby. If that is how you view puzzlers, this book would be an eye-opener.
Williams tells us that puzzling is at its most popular during stressful times. “The joy of bringing order out of the chaos of scattered pieces seems to be enhanced when the problems of the world appear most intractable.” The Great Depression created a “puzzling craze.” In one week, ten million new puzzles went into thirty million American homes. During the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020, my puzzle friends tell me the store shelves quickly emptied of puzzles and the moderator of the Facebook puzzle page I mentioned earlier could not keep up with new requests to join.
This book would make a great gift to accompany a jigsaw puzzle. Unfortunately, it has become a collector’s item, too, and is priced well over $100.
I have an ideal spot to set puzzles, a huge table surrounded by windows, great morning light, and lovely scenery and birdlife. Add a cup of coffee and it is a relaxing and inspiring way to start an early morning. I learned in the book that there are myriad reasons people enjoy puzzles, from unwinding with them the way I do, to socializing with other puzzlers and family, to challenging themselves with speed and difficulty. My friend’s family buys him three 1,000-piece puzzles, throws all the pieces into one bag, and hides the boxes. He loves it!
Puzzles originated in the mid-1700s as educational tools for children. From this beginning, they have grown to encompass all imaginable themes and are a popular hobby and, sometimes, an obsession. Williams discusses in some detail how puzzle trends reflect and reveal cultural and popular historical topics, including patriotic themes during the world wars, advertising trends, movies, iconic writers, maps, great works of art, and world destinations. One Canadian company I ran across creates quality puzzles to show off the contemporary artwork of artists in its home province.
Queen Elizabeth II, Bill Gates, Stephen King, and my five-year-old grandson are all avid puzzlers. Early puzzles were cut from wood. Par Company in the United States created premier luxury wooden puzzles for decades in the and cut their customized wooden puzzles for folks such as Humphrey Bogart, Yul Brynner, and Marilyn Monroe. Par and Stave luxury puzzles found their way onto the yachts and private railway cars of Edsel Ford and the Rockefellers. Some notables, including publishing icons, who purchased puzzles had them sent in unmarked boxes, “to conceal their addiction to puzzles from their highbrow colleagues.” Williams demolishes the cliché of the lonely and bored puzzler, as immortalized by the jaded housewife in Citizen Kane. But the stigma continues. On a Facebook page for puzzle enthusiasts, one fellow said recently how nice it was to find this group online, since he is male, age 46, and often ridiculed for his hobby. If that is how you view puzzlers, this book would be an eye-opener.
Williams tells us that puzzling is at its most popular during stressful times. “The joy of bringing order out of the chaos of scattered pieces seems to be enhanced when the problems of the world appear most intractable.” The Great Depression created a “puzzling craze.” In one week, ten million new puzzles went into thirty million American homes. During the Covid-19 Pandemic of 2020, my puzzle friends tell me the store shelves quickly emptied of puzzles and the moderator of the Facebook puzzle page I mentioned earlier could not keep up with new requests to join.
This book would make a great gift to accompany a jigsaw puzzle. Unfortunately, it has become a collector’s item, too, and is priced well over $100.
June 1, 2022
Williams traces the history of the jigsaw puzzle, 0riginally created as an educational tool for children in the mid-1700s, to their position as a collector's item today. She looks at the factors behind the craze for puzzles in the Great Depression and World War II, the same factors that saw their growth during the pandemic. She also looks at how puzzles are made and how people continue to try to find new ways to challenge solvers. There is a little too much history about individual American comanies for the non-collector, but for anyone interested in history and sociology of jigsaw puzzles this book is a must read. j
January 3, 2024
A fascinating history of the jigsaw puzzle. Williams puts the jigsaw puzzle in its historical context and explains the changes in the technology of puzzle production, advertising and consumer changes. She also introduces the reader to the important companies in the puzzle industry, and some of the more interesting characters too. Then there are the collectors. SO much to learn. I enjoyed it and recommend it.
July 10, 2019
This seems to be the only book that presents a history of the jigsaw puzzle from the beginning to fairly recently.
I would have given it a higher star rating if it had been less uneven and repetitive but it does contain a lot of information about how puzzles have gone in and out of popularity and about old companies and the puzzles that they sold.
There were several chapters when I thought for a second that pages had been bound in the wrong order because I was reading exactly the same information over again -- and again -- and again.
This might be one of your favorite books if you are obsessed with the Great Depression because everything in the book happens before the Depression, during the Depression, as a result of the Depression, after the Depression ...
I would have given it a higher star rating if it had been less uneven and repetitive but it does contain a lot of information about how puzzles have gone in and out of popularity and about old companies and the puzzles that they sold.
There were several chapters when I thought for a second that pages had been bound in the wrong order because I was reading exactly the same information over again -- and again -- and again.
This might be one of your favorite books if you are obsessed with the Great Depression because everything in the book happens before the Depression, during the Depression, as a result of the Depression, after the Depression ...
June 17, 2020
A good book to read during the Pandemic. This book shows how popular Jigsaw Puzzles became during times of strained pocket books, or travel restrictions.
April 9, 2021
If you want to know anything about jigsaw puzzles this is the book for you.
July 22, 2021
Absolutely encyclopedic in scope, but an easy read. Williams is so clearly THE expert on the subject matter. Sometimes a little list-heavy, but I’m now kind of obsessed with the Par Puzzles Boys.
March 12, 2015
After I moved to Montreal in 1996, I took up the hobby of putting together jigsaw puzzles, a soothing occupation to pass the time during the very long winter months (wintry weather lasts in Montreal, on average, for about five months of the year, regardless of the calendar or season), so I was interested when I ran across The Jigsaw Puzzle: Piecing Together a History, by Anne D. Williams, who is a "puzzle expert" (and economics teacher) in Maine. This is actually quite an enjoyable book, as it charts the course of puzzle making from its infancy in the 1700s, when children in wealthy European families were given wooden blocks cut into the shapes of countries (or counties in the case of England) in order to teach them geography, all the way through to modern computer-generated, online puzzles depicting things like fractals and other shapes unheard of back in the day. There were jigsaw crazes in America, in the early 1900s, in the 1970s, and most especially during the Great Depression - the latter a fairly sensible choice, given that most people couldn't afford to go out to dinner or shows, but could afford the very inexpensive jigsaw puzzle. Some Depression-era men and women managed to earn a little cash by making the puzzles, and in that way it has also served as a sort of cottage industry in times of economic distress; some of those creators also created jigsaw puzzle lending libraries, making the hobby even more within reach of the masses. Rich people did, and still do, have puzzles made to order out of the finest materials; at the same time, cereal boxes did, and do, from time to time put puzzle cuts on their boxes for the kids to cut out and reassemble themselves; it's a very egalitarian hobby in that respect. Some puzzle makers were in it purely for the advertising of brands, others liked to include shaped puzzle pieces that became the signature of their work, or to include puzzle pieces that, when properly inserted into the puzzle, spelled out words. One young man in New Jersey even created a jigsaw puzzle out of a photo of himself and his girlfriend and their dog, with a heart-shaped piece left uninserted and a group of three hearts reading respectively "Yes!" "No!" and "Maybe" and the question written across the puzzle to his sweetheart, "Will you marry me?" Now, that's a versatile pastime! Williams' writing is clear if not soaring, and there's a wealth of trivia to be found in the book, if, that is, you're interested in the subject. So recommended for puzzlers, both the casual (like me) and the obsessed (like Williams).
February 12, 2013
I enjoyed this book very much, specially because I was writing a paper on Jigsaw Puzzles and this was the only book available that really have a chronological history of Jigsaw Puzzles development as a game and part of human life.
Jigsaws has been having an important role to neurological well-being to people through History, specially in times of crises.
Well illustrated and with many references to find many more details or images.
Worth reading for those interested in the subject or in History.
Jigsaws has been having an important role to neurological well-being to people through History, specially in times of crises.
Well illustrated and with many references to find many more details or images.
Worth reading for those interested in the subject or in History.
October 25, 2008
This book was the author's attempt to really nail down the history of Jigsaw puzzles, specifically in the United States. A lot of it I found very interesting, especially the trends in puzzle making and popularity. Other parts were just lists of names and companies that produced puzzles, not quite as interesting. Overall, it was fun to learn more about puzzles and puzzle making.
January 9, 2008
Found this book in the laundry room, and really enjoyed it. I've never actually had a NICE jigsaw puzzle, and I had no idea how complex and personalized handmade ones really are.
Very interesting read!
Very interesting read!
February 10, 2008
Given that I've recently read 4 books on jigsaw puzzles, this is the best so far... for what that's worth.
March 1, 2009
I enjoyed this book; especially the depth of information from the early beginings of puzzlehood to modern design and manufacturing techniques of the 21st century.
December 23, 2015
As someone who likes puzzles, I enjoyed much of this brief history. Sometimes, however, the author got a bit too list-y with the manufacturers, breaking out of an otherwise engaging narrative.
February 25, 2016
A. nonfiction, history
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews